Finding Love Online

Is There Still a Stigma Associated with Finding Love Online?

This video dives into the debate.

Is There Still a Stigma Associated with Finding Love Online?This video dives into the debate.

Shutterstock

It seems like almost everyone has tried online dating at some point—whether it was for a casual hookup or a serious relationship. But is there a difference in the way we perceive couples who met online versus IRL? A new short film by underwear company Me Undies undresses the stigmas that still exist when it comes to spilling the details about meeting on a dating site.

The "RomCommentary" opens with a couple discussing what they should say to the guy’s parents if they ask how the two met. While he thinks it’s “hilarious and awesome” that they met online, his girlfriend says she’s embarrassed by it. When she pushes him to tell his parents a fabricated "meet cute" story, he refuses, which, of course, sparks a fight. Although there’s a happy ending, they don’t really tell you if she ever gets over her hang-ups about online dating.

Now, obviously the woman in this video is being a little rough when it comes to meeting on the internet. We doubt that there are many people out there today who view online dating as something that's only for "socially incompetent internet types," as she says. Still, as ubiquitous as online dating has become, we can't help but wonder if there's still some kind of stigma or stereotypes associated with it.

A whopping one third of couples married between 2005 and 2012 supposedly met online, and research shows they may even have slightly better rates of relationship success. But it's true that some people are still just more comfortable with the idea of meeting the old fashioned way. And as the video showed, even some couples who meet on the internet can be a little insecure about getting together that way, which definitely doesn’t help normalize the process.

However you feel about it, internet dating isn’t going away anytime soon, and it can be a pretty fantastic way to meet someone. So if it's a stigma or stereotype that's holding you back, try to drop it—who cares how you met if you meet someone amazing? Plus, there are much crazier ways to meet the love of your life.

TELL US: Do you think couples who meet online are viewed differently than those who didn’t? If you met your partner online, did you tell your family and friends about how you met? Tell us about it in the comments below.